


Professional Observations

by Glinda



Category: Avengers Assemble, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Community: kink_bingo, Multi, Pictures, Threesome - F/M/M, consensual voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-15
Updated: 2012-06-15
Packaged: 2017-11-12 08:29:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/488798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glinda/pseuds/Glinda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some people learn by doing, he's more of a learn by observation person. It's something the three of them share.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Professional Observations

**Author's Note:**

> Squeezing in a last fill for [](http://kink-bingo.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**kink_bingo**](http://kink-bingo.dreamwidth.org/), for the prompt 'pictures'. New fandom, new pairing, new kink. Fun, though kinda scary. Also, apparently I can't call them by their first names. *sigh* slight spoilers for _Deadly Origins_ though hopefully just in a references that you will enjoy if you've read it way rather than a plot giving away sort of way.

He watches them. Has done since before either of them were his agents. Back when Barton was an asset no one else seemed to be able to handle and Romanova was purely and simply a threat. He'd read hundreds of reports, watched hours of surveillance, stared long and hard at still photos. Searching for a clue, a way in, something that everyone else had missed. A lot of agents have worn the name Black Widow, so it takes him a while to figure out that that the one they're interested in is the original. A living legend by all accounts, though from what he can find out about her current movements, her current handlers don't exactly respect that reputation.

When Barton decides to bring Romanova back instead of killing her the process becomes vitally important. At the same time it becomes much harder, because now everyone's watching them and they're performing. The intel Coulson's receiving is useless, so he gathers his own. He uses every trick he knows to foil surveillance, takes them places where trails are obvious and bugging next to impossible, and photographs them having fun, records impromptu interviews with them, but always with their permission. He gets shouted at a lot by Fury but he stands his ground and his boss gradually accepts that he's on to something and leaves him be. Besides, they run into the Xmen on assignment one day and he catches Romanova and Wolverine reminiscing in Russian about old times and Xavier's comment about them both having lived too long to be loyal to causes; instead remaining loyal to people gets him thinking. Romanova has been dozens of different people over the years, Coulson wonders if he watches her long enough if he can learn who they all were and how they affect who she is now. Sometimes she looks back at him when he's watching her with a curious expression, like she thinks he might find things out about her she doesn't know herself.

It becomes a game, almost. He watches over them to keep them safe, feeding them intel and watching their backs. They thrive on it, feeding him information in return and pushing themselves harder too. As though knowing he's watching makes them want to be better, more impressive.  
The two of them are bound together by the things they've done and been through together. They work together in perfect sync that is untouchable by anyone else they're on a mission with. Except that on the rare occasions that he's in the field with them, he slots seamlessly into the dynamic. He's spent so long watching them that he can predict their movements and even when he can't he can react instantly in ways that help rather than hinder. Barton's arrows never so much as graze Coulson, even if he can't yet duck them without looking like Romanova does. Very few people ever come to understand that they're a trio rather than a duo, just because he's not physically in the room doesn't mean he isn't always with them.

There are times when he can't watch over them. Times when they're off the map and out of surveillance view. It makes him antsy, no matter how much he trusts their abilities and that they will look out for each other and themselves. The give written reports when they return, Coulson could spend hours pouring over the details and still not find what he's looking for, so whenever he can get away with it, he gets them to give verbal reports on camera. To most people the video reports reveal nothing that wasn't in the written report, but to him there's a wealth of unspoken intel in each pause, eye movement or unconscious gesture. If its been a particularly bad mission, he'll film them in rehab and throughout recovery, sparring and on the range. He used to come up with excuses and reasons but as they do sometimes actually sit and watch the footage with him – so he can point out the moments where he made the call to clear them or not for active duty; they trust his judgement but sometimes they need to see for themselves – he doesn't bother anymore, he just does it. Their easy acceptance of it makes other people acquiesce in turn.

In turn, whenever Coulson is injured himself, he knows they keep vigil over him. No one ever sees them at it, but he knows. Sometimes he can feel their presence; others they leave him little clues. Like the time he wakes in the hospital at 3am, too tired to even open his eyes but too gripped with paranoia to get back to sleep. Only to hear the reassuring sound of Barton recounting the movements of everyone who's come anywhere near his room in the previous six hours, his calm, measured voice lulling Coulson back to sleep. Or the time he'd unwisely signed himself out of medical against expert advise and tried to go cold turkey from the morphine by himself – the security camera footage of his apartment during that weekend and Romanova's timely and necessary intervention, had somehow ended up on his desk and lived in his bottom drawer as a reminder both not to be so foolish again and also that they watched over him too.

The first time he catches them having sex on camera he's furious with them. It's not that he's that bothered by them having sex with each other. It's not like being members of SHIELD is actually conducive to having a relationship with someone outside of it. Besides, once he gets past the initial shock he can see the care and affection there, this has clearly been going on for a while without damaging their professional relationship. No, what bothers Coulson is that if he can see them, so could other people, they could get caught and court marshalled. It's so reckless, and it hurts, he really thought that they cared about this little team that the three of them have built. He wants to storm down and bawl them out this instant but decides that damage control is more pressing. He hacks into all the various different surveillance systems and finds: nothing. As far as anyone else looking at the footage is concerned its an empty room. The only person getting the live feed is him. He sits down heavily in front of his monitor and watches them closely, they keep glancing at the camera now, wry amusement sneaking into their expressions, as though they both know exactly what he was just doing. He begins to understand what they are up to. He understands them by observing their actions, they've come to the conclusion that the best way for them to tell him about the change in their relationship and have him understand is to show him. They're sharing this with him and trusting him to keep their secret – and there's no question in his mind that he will – he feels kind of privileged. Even if he is still pissed off at them.

It's not until the fourth or fifth time he catches them that it occurs to him that there's something other than sharing a secret or demonstrating their trust in him. He watches them from start to finish and realises that each of them looks at the camera and says his name as they reach orgasm. There's no sound but he's a proficient lip reader and they're not trying to be subtle about it. It's an invitation, if he walked in on them, they'd make room for him in their dynamic in the bedroom just as easily as they do on the battlefield. It's not something any of them can discuss out loud, or that he could ever take them up on, but they're sharing this with him nonetheless, showing him that he's part of this even if he can't physically be there. Love is for children he thinks, and laughs hysterically.

There are lines he won't cross. They know that and respect that, and Coulson appreciates that more than he can say. Nonetheless, when he occasionally finds a small camera in his shower, an obscure note in Barton's handwriting but with Romanova's turn of phrase accompanying it, it seems churlish not to give them a show. For those ten minutes he allows himself to think about all the things he'll never do with them, indulging every hastily squashed fantasy as he takes himself in hand. He always looks directly at the camera as the end approaches, mouths their names at it as his orgasm overtakes him, sharing both pleasure and culpability with them.

It's not perfect but it's what they can have and its worth it. They watch over each other and its enough.  



End file.
